Egypt’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi has held talks with a high-level delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), comprising Natalia Lacurzana, the bank’s Regional Head for Natural Resources; Amr Salem, Investment Lead for Oil and Mining in Egypt; and Menna Zekrallah, Deputy Head for Corporate Sector Operations in Egypt. The meeting followed recent discussions in London and underscored the ministry’s commitment to deepening partnerships with major international financial institutions.
The talks reviewed specific steps for proposed areas of cooperation, including the EBRD’s interest in financing Egypt’s planned national aerial survey to map mineral potential across the country. Both sides also discussed measures to improve the investment climate in the petroleum and mining sectors by developing innovative and competitive financing mechanisms for local and international companies.
Badawi outlined opportunities for collaboration in several key areas, including upgrading the digital infrastructure of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, developing an advanced energy-efficiency database, and expanding training programmes for staff across the authority and the wider mining industries.
Lacurzana highlighted the EBRD’s extensive record of cooperation with Egypt’s petroleum sector, citing the bank’s technical and financial support for major energy-efficiency projects and its backing for carbon-reduction initiatives. She also noted the bank’s role in financing and launching an advanced human-capacity development programme, as well as its readiness to finance the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project currently under development, the first of its kind in Egypt and the region.
The meeting was also attended by Yassin Mohamed, First Undersecretary supervising environment, safety, occupational health, energy efficiency and climate, and Yasser Ramadan, Head of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority and Mining Industries.
